High voltage tolerant inverter
AssigneeDialog Semiconductor GmbH
InventorsMarinus Wilhelmus Kruiskamp, Petrus Hendrikus Seesink
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Abstract
An inverter is presented. The inverter may be configured to receive an input voltage at an input node of the inverter, and to generate an output voltage at an output node of the inverter. The inverter may comprise a first transistor coupled between a supply node and the output node of the inverter. Further, the inverter may comprise a second transistor coupled between the output node of the inverter and a reference node. The input node of the inverter may be coupled to a back-gate of the first transistor and to a back-gate of the second transistor.
Claims16
An inverter configured to receive an input voltage at an input node of the inverter and to generate an output voltage at an output node of the inverter, the inverter comprising:
- a first transistor coupled between a supply node and the output node of the inverter;
- and
- a second transistor coupled between the output node of the inverter and a reference node,
- wherein the first transistor comprises a gate and a back-gate which are arranged on opposite sides of the first transistor,
- wherein the second transistor comprises a gate and a back-gate which are arranged on opposite sides of the second transistor,
- wherein the input node of the inverter is coupled to the back-gate of the first transistor and to the back-gate of the second transistor,
- wherein the input node of the inverter is neither coupled to the gate of the first transistor nor to the gate of the second transistor, and
- wherein the first transistor comprises a gate isolation layer and a back-gate isolation layer, and wherein
- the gate isolation layer is arranged between the gate of the first transistor and a channel of the first transistor,
- the back-gate isolation layer is arranged between the back-gate of the first transistor and the channel of the first transistor, and
- the back-gate isolation layer is thicker than the gate isolation layer.
A method of generating an output voltage at an output node of an inverter, the method comprising
- receiving an input voltage at an input node of the inverter;
- coupling a first transistor between a supply node and the output node of the inverter, wherein the first transistor comprises a gate and a back-gate which are arranged on opposite sides of the first transistor;
- coupling a second transistor between the output node of the inverter and a reference node, wherein the second transistor comprises a gate and a back-gate which are arranged on opposite sides of the second transistor;
- and
- coupling the input node of the inverter to the back-gate of the first transistor and to the back-gate of the second transistor, wherein the input node of the inverter is neither coupled to the gate of the first transistor nor to the gate of the second transistor,
- wherein the first transistor comprises a gate isolation layer and a back-gate isolation layer, and wherein
- the gate isolation layer is arranged between the gate of the first transistor and a channel of the first transistor,
- the back-gate isolation layer is arranged between the back-gate of the first transistor and the channel of the first transistor, and
- the back-gate isolation layer is thicker than the gate isolation layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.